Garage-door control



April 21, 1931- J. H. USHER 1,801,533

GARAGE DOOR CONTROL Filed Aug. 10, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS.

April 21, 1931. J. H. USHER I GARAGE DOOR CONTROL Filed Aug. 10, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnnTl\llllvll\llllllulll BYQ'E 4M A TTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 21, 1931 PATENT OFFICE JOSEPH n. USHER, or srniiverinrn, ILLINors GARAGE-DOOR CONTROL Application filed August 10, 1929.

My invention relates to garage door controls of a character adapted to be manipulated from without or within a garage having one or more doors adapted to swing on hinges; an object being in my device to providea practical, convenient and inexpensive means of opening and closing garage doors when entering or leaving the garage or while within the garage. This apparatus is also intended to make it possible for a driver to open or close the garage doors while thecar is approaching or leaving the garage wlthout stopping the car.

A particular object of my invention is to provide an apparatus for controlling the opening and closing of garage doors with ease of operation Whether one is inside or outside of the garage While manipulating the doors.

I attain the objects of my invention by. the device described in the annexed specification, recited in the-claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like refer- 4 ence numerals indicate like parts in the several figures;

Referring to the figures:

Fig. l is a perspective of a portion of a garage showing operatively connected therewith the garage door control of my invention. This figure shows a portion of the garage cut away in order to more completely disclose the structure of my device.

Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of my garage door control including both the outside and inside control connections therefor.

Fig. 3 discloses a side elevation of'the control levers and pulleys adapted to be used in manipulating the garage door moving mechanism. This figure shows both the inside and outside control levers as well as the crank shaft pulleys andthe control cable connecting them.

Referring in detail to the construction of my invention and the preferred manner of with a garage -1 having upright swinging doors 2 and -3, a frame 4 including supports 5' therefor adapted to be supported from the upper portion of 5 the garage. (Upper portion not shown.)

operating the same I provide in connection Serial No. 384,867.

This frame operatively supports a pair of slide and guide rods 6 and '7 secured to frame 4 at one endand to frame lof the garage at the other, preferably.

On slide rods 6- and 7 thereis slidably supported a plate member 8- having integral sleeves -9 and 10. These engage rods 6- and 7 while pivotally connected with plate 8 are a pair of garage door control rods or arms *11 and 12 respectively which engage brackets 13 and 1t adjacent the upper edge of the door by a pivoted connection 15 and 16.

Hingedly or pivotally connected with plate 8- is a push and pull rod 17 which moves back and forth whencontrolled by the rotation of crank shaft 18 which controls rod l7' through an adjustable crank rod 19 establishing connection between crank shaft 18 and rod 17-.

It will be seen that when plate 8 is moved away from the door opening as it slides on rods 6' and -7 that rods 1 1 and -l2- pull doors 2'- and 34- toward a closed position while asplate 8- is slidably moved toward the garage door opening rods 11 and 12 reverse the movement of the doors and open them by pushing on brackets 13 and 14 to which they are pivotally connected with the doors.

As the driver approaches the garage previous to entering the same he will push lever 20 stationed outside of the garage from the position shown in dotted lines as lever 20 over to the position-shown for lever 20 where it registers near the garage. This makes it convenient for adriver to merely touch lever 20 in order tov open the doors before the car gets to the garage.

In like manner when the driver is backing out of the garage he may close the doors by touching lever 20 to swing it to its position as shown at 20 as he moves away from the garage. Lever 20 and pulley 23' are mounted on a standard -31.

If the occasion requires to open or close the garage doors while one is inside the doors maybe opened by swinginglever 21 over to its position shown at 21' or to close them by swinging back to the position shown as lever A cable or chain 22, establishes control con nection between wheel or pulley 23- and pulley 24- while wheel or pulley 25 is controllably connected with pulley 26- on the same crank shaft -18 with pulley 24- through a chain or cable -Q7-.

Crank shaft 18 may be supported on a frame -28 secured to the garage frame overhead while one end may be secured to the inner wall of the garage for instance on a bracket 29-.

When crank shaft 18 is turned by manipulating control levers 20 or 21 adjustable crank 19-, when the doors stand open, will rest in line with push and pull rod 17 as it rests on frame 4between supports -5- therefor while adjustable crank rod 19 in its reverse position may rest on bracket -30 supported by a frame member -28- which supports the crank end of crank shaft 18-.

In order to make my garage door control operate very smoothly and with very little e ort it is only necessary to keep rods -6 and 7-- suitably greased so as to carry integral sleeves -9 and -10 of plate -8 su ported by these two rods.

t will be understood by those who are accustomed to using private garages and the like that any convenient and practical means of enabling the driver to open the garage doors with ease will oftentimes be a decided protection from unpleasant weather conditions, and make it unnecessary for the operator to get out of the car and open the garage doors. The same is true of the arrangement provided in my invention permitting the driver to open the garage doors conveniently while in the garage and closing the doors substantially without getting out of the car after backing away from the doors.

It will be seen that when the doors are opened wide push and pull rod-17will be in longitudinal alignment in a horizontal position with crank rod 19- which will substantially hold the doors open while when the doors are closed push and pull rod 17 lies parallel with crank rod -19-- with their connected ends resting on bracket 30 since in either of these two positions rod -17 and rod -19 are in a dead center position making it necessary to move levers 20 or 21- or the cables on chains --22- or -27 connected therewith in order to open the doors or close them.

Having thus described the nature of my invention, what I claim is:

1. A garage door control apparatus comprising in co-operative combination a pair of parallel horizontally disposed guide rods, a sliding plate operatively engaging the rods, a push and pull rod pivotally connected with said plate on one side for movement in a vertical plane, a pair of garage door control arms pivotally connected with said plate on the forward side thereof and pivotally connected with corresponding garage doors by the opposite ends thereof, an elevated crank shaft disposed at right angles to said guide rods and a crank operatively connecting said shaft with said push and pull rod, a pair of pulleys secured to said crank shaft and operatively connected means mounted outside and inside of the garage for manipulating the door control by turning said pulleys.

2. In a garage having swinging doors, a garage door control comprising pivoted arms for pivotally engaging garage doors, a sliding plate member and a pair of parallel slide rods slidably supporting the plate; said arms pivotally connected with said plate at one end and garage doors at the other, a push and pull rod pivotally connected with said plate for moving the plate on said slide rod in the control of said arms, a crank shaft and a crank secured thereto and pivotally connected with said push and pull rod, a pair of pulleys secured to said crank shaft, a control lever operatively mounted outside of the garage and a cable connection between said lever and one of said pulleys, a second control lever operatively mounted within the garage and controllably connected with the other of said pulleys by a control cable for the optional control of the door moving mechamsm.

3. In a garage having swinging doors a garage door control comprising in co-operative combination a frame, a pair of parallel slide and guide rods horizontally disposed in an elevated position supported by said frame at one end and by the door frame of the garage at the other, a sliding plate provided with integral sleeves engaging said rods, a pair of door control rods pivotally connected with said garage doors at one end and pivotally connected with said sliding plate on the sliding guide rods at the other, a push and pull rod pivotally connected with said plate, a crank shaft disposed at right angles to said slide rods and a crank establishing control connection from said crank shaft to said push and pull rod and a pair of pulleys secured to said crank shaft for rotation therewith, a control pulley provided with a control lever operatively mounted outside of said garage and a control cable establishing operative connection between said control pulley and one of said pulleys on the crank shaft, a second control pulley operatively mounted within the garage and a cable establishing operative connection between the same and the second of said pulleys on the crank shaft.

1. A garage door control apparatus comprising in co-operative combination a pair of parallel horizontally disposed guide rods, a sliding plate operatively engaging the rods,

push and pull rods pivotally connected with said plate on one side for movement in a Vertical plane, a pair of garage door control arms pivotally connected with said plate on the forward side thereof and pivotally connected With corresponding garage doors by the opposite ends thereof, an elevated crank shaft disposed at right angles to said guide rods and a crank operatively connecting said shaft With said push and pull rod and means for operatively rotating said crank from Within and Without the garage for the control of the garage doors.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand this 2nd day of August, 1929.

JQSEPH H. USHER. 

